The invention of xe2x80x98Treasurexe2x80x99, a new and distinctive cultivar of strawberry plant, is a result of the cross breeding between xe2x80x98A3xe2x80x99 (an unpatented JandP selection) and xe2x80x98Oso Grandexe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,578). The resulting plant was selected in a controlled breeding plot at JandP Research""s cultivated field located in Naples, Fla. during the fruiting season of 1997-1998. It was designated as JP3 by the inventor. This cultivar is botanically identified as Fragaria xananassa Duch. xe2x80x98Treasurexe2x80x99 has been propagated by runner and meristem culture in Naples, Fla. as well as in the commercial nurseries in United States and Canada. It has been trialed in the fields of growers in both North Carolina and Florida. A xe2x80x98Treasurexe2x80x99 plant retains its distinctive characteristics and reproduces true to type in successive generations.
The commerical cultivar that we believe to be the closest comparison to xe2x80x98Treasurexe2x80x99 in appearance from those known to us is xe2x80x98Camarosaxe2x80x99(U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,708).
However, there are several characteristics of xe2x80x98Treasurexe2x80x99 that are different from or not possessed by xe2x80x98Camarosaxe2x80x99. Those are:
(1). Color: The fruit color of xe2x80x98Treasurexe2x80x99 is dark red, which is very distinguishable when compared with xe2x80x98Camarosaxe2x80x99.
(2). Productivity: xe2x80x98Treasurexe2x80x99 is a much earlier producer and has a higher total yield in comparison to xe2x80x98Camarosaxe2x80x99 in Florida production areas.
(3). Plant size: The plant size of xe2x80x98Treasurexe2x80x99 is much smaller than that of xe2x80x98Camarosaxe2x80x99.
(4). Anthracnose crown rot resistance: The plant of xe2x80x98Treasurexe2x80x99 is tolerant to anthracnose crown rot disease, which is one of the major diseases in strawberry growth in the southeastern United States, and xe2x80x98Camarosaxe2x80x99 is susceptible to anthracnose disease.
(5). Bracts: The frequency of bracts, which occur on the petioles of xe2x80x98Treasurexe2x80x99 is 63.6% , wherease there are none on xe2x80x98Camarosaxe2x80x99.
(6). Isozymes in leaf extracts: For isozyme analyses see Table 1.
(a) The phosphoglucoisomerase (PGI) isozyme banding pattern for xe2x80x98Treasurexe2x80x99 and xe2x80x98Camarosaxe2x80x99 is A2.
(b) The leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) isozyme banding pattern for xe2x80x98Teasurexe2x80x99 and xe2x80x98Camarosaxe2x80x99 is B3.
(c) The malate dehydrogenase(MDH) isozyme banding pattern for xe2x80x98Treasurexe2x80x99 is C1 whereas xe2x80x98Camarosaxe2x80x99 is C2.
All isozyme analyses were conducted using leaf tissue. Reference: J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 106:684-687,(1981); USDA Forest Service General Technical Report PSW-64,(1982); and Tanksley, S. D. and Orton, T. J. Isozymes in Plant Genetics and Breeding, Part A, pp. 469-516 (Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., 1984).
As shown in Table 1 xe2x80x98Treasurexe2x80x99 can be unambiguously distinguished from xe2x80x98Camarosaxe2x80x99 by using the above-mentioned isozyme patterns.